Tuesday, January 13, 2004
Wichita is taking another step toward productive economic development.
Last year, business and government leaders formed the Greater Wichita Economic Development Coalition. The Coalition arose after a particularly contentious period of municipal politics, and it is making progress on ending Wichita's turf wars.
Yesterday, Dean Whitaker (a loyal EDPro subscriber) delivered a report to the city's leadership. His comments focused on the critical dimension that community leaders must have to compete in today's global economy: trust.
"In the past, we had all these entities that were trying to grab the credit. But what I see now is the developing of levels of trust."
Trust is not some "feel good", soft idea. Trust is a critical component of competitiveness in an economy based on networks. Value (higher incomes) is embedded in relationships. And relationships cannot function without trust.
Read more about Wichita's next steps. Go.
posted by Ed Morrison |
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Some Background on EDPro Weblog
The purpose of this weblog is to help economic development professionals -- EDPros -- keep up with the changes sweeping our profession. Strap on your goggles. It's a whole new game. There are no experts any more. The only place to learn about economic development is from other EDPros who are doing it.
One other point: the prevaling approach (paradigm, if you like) in economic development is shifting from competition to collaboration. There are a lot of reaasons underlying this shift, but here's the important insight: You, your community, and your region will do better by collaborating and sharing information.
If you are using a news reader, here is the link to syndicate this site:
Here's the link if you are a bloglines subscriber:
Speaking and workshops on Open Source Economic Development
As the idea of Open Source Economic Development starts spreading, more people are asking about it. Visit the I-Open web site to learn more. My colleagues and I are happy to explain the basic concepts in a talk or a workshop. E-mail Susan Alshuler if you'd like to learn more about workshops and speaking.
Background on Ed Morrison
Download some background information on me here.
Wichita nurtures the critical element: trust
